A friend recently gave me this recipe and since it’s a dreary, rainy day I thought baking would be a good idea. The house smells wonderful. I know, this is the Finnish Dish and these are Swedish twists so if I make them for my Dad I will put cardamom seeds in them and tell him it’s an old Finnish recipe.  The recipe is fairly simple and made enough for a very large coffee klatch. Thanks to my friend and neighbor for sharing this recipe with me.

Let’s get started with our Swedish Twists. 

Two .25-oz packages active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp if you buy yeast in jars like I do).

1/2 c warm water

Dissolve yeast in warm water. 

 

8 T unsalted butter, melted

2 c warmed buttermilk

2 large eggs

6 T granulated sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Add the warmed buttermilk, butter, sugar, eggs, salt and baking soda to the dissolved yeast. Mix well.

7 1/2 c all purpose flour

Stir in flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes).

Place dough in a greased bowl turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours). I always think that using my grandmother’s bread bowl makes my yeast breads extra special.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each into a 16×19 inch rectangle.  For the filling:

4 T unsalted butter melted

1 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Brush each rectangle of dough with the melted butter and then sprinkle with the brown sugar cinnamon mixture.

Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise and pinch edges to seal. Cut into one inch strips and twist each strip a few times. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. While the dough is rising a second time preheat your oven to 375.

Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Combine the following ingredients to make a glaze and drizzle over twists while they are still warm.

1 c powdered sugar

1 T unsalted butter melted

1 T hot water

Whisk together and drizzle over warm twists.

When I’m baking or cooking I find it easier to prep all my ingredients before I start…measuring out everything so I don’t have to stop and start continually and so I don’t forget if I’ve added something. 

Whenever I make a recipe the first time I mostly following the instructions. I will try adding some cardamom seed to my dough next time and perhaps a tablespoon of orange juice in place of the water and some orange zest to the glaze. But these are awfully good just as they are. Tomorrow I’ll pack some up and take them with me to share with my knitting lady friends. Thanks for sharing your recipe Deb.